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Texas must keep guns away from those who would 'murder our children,' Gov. Greg Abbott says

After two mass shootings in six months in Texas — Sutherland Springs and now Santa Fe — Gov. Greg Abbott says it's time to act against gun violence. But instead of prescribing a solution, he's asking what people with various points of view want to see.

AUSTIN, Texas — More behavioral counselors; uniformed police officers; parental accountability; and communication among school officials, students and law enforcement were some of the immediate needs identified Tuesday when Texas' governor convened the first of three round-table discussions seeking ways to end what has become an epidemic of mass shootings.

"The reality is we all want guns out of the hands of those who will try to murder our children," Gov. Greg Abbott said during a brief opening session while reporters were allowed inside his Capitol office suite. "The question is what are we, the leaders of Texas, going to do to prevent this from happening again?"

How that question will be answered likely will come in the next few days as the governor meets behind closed doors with experts and opinion-shapers from across the political spectrum. The nuts-and-bolts discussions that will continue Wednesday and Thursday are taking place behind closed doors to better accommodate a free flow of ideas, Abbott's aides said.

Cissy Reynolds-Perez of Corpus Christi, the only high school principal in the first day's discussion, told Abbott and her fellow panelists that some of the students she deals with day are unnerved by one mass killing after another.

"They are," she said in an interview after the two-hour discussion. Then she handed over a copy of a letter she shared with the governor that a student had written the day after a gunman killed 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Florida.

"I was scared to come to school the next day," the student wrote. "I can't go a day without being scared. ... I just want our school to be safe and secure so I won't have to be scared."

Abbott traveled to Santa Fe, Texas, about 30 miles southeast of Houston, after Friday's school shooting left 10 dead and 13 wounded. He was there again for church services Sunday.

During his opening remarks, the governor said he has so far spoken with about 100 people directly affected in the most recent shooting, just as he did when a rifle-carrying attacker gunned down 26 during Nov. 5 church service in Sutherland Springs, Texas, about 30 miles southeast of San Antonio.

“Every single time there's a shooting everyone wants to talk about what the problem was. ... The problem is that innocent people are being shot, and that must be stopped.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott

His conversations were with people who were wounded, witnesses who watched in horror as friends were murdered and family members who lost loved ones in the carnage.

"Every single time there's a shooting everyone wants to talk about what the problem was," Abbott said.

"Well, by now we know what the problem is," he said. "The problem is that innocent people are being shot, and that must be stopped."

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who took part in the discussion, said his suggestion made last week to limit the number of entrances to school buildings was well received and could be put in place at little cost.

Adding to the ranks of counselors and police officers would likely be more expensive, but Patrick said state leaders should not let costs outweigh safety concerns.

Arming more school staff members, including teachers, was also a recommendation to be considered but was not unanimously endorsed. Presently, some 172 school districts have opted into the state-sanctioned school marshal program.

Additional counselors are a critical need. In some schools the ratio between students and counselors is 600 to 1, Reynolds-Perez said.

The governor told representatives from the Texas Education Agency, the Department of Public Safety, local school officials and legislative leaders that he wants people from all political stripes to share their ideas. That includes Republicans, Democrats, Second Amendment defenders and those who see the need to restrict access to certain types of firearms.

"If you're being silent, you are not filling your seat adequately," Abbott said.

These are the names of the Santa Fe school shooting victims written on paper with flowers at a makeshift memorial outside Santa Fe High School, May 22, 2018. COURTNEY SACCO/CALLER-TIMES FOR THE USA TODAY NETWORK

A woman becomes emotional at the makeshift memorial outside Santa Fe High School in Texas May 21, 2018. On May 18, 2018 10 people where killed during a shooting. COURTNEY SACCO/CALLER-TIMES FOR THE USA TODAY NETWORK

Members of the Billy Graham response team and Crosses for Losses's Greg Zanis pray over ten crosses for the victims of the Santa Fe High School shooting out side the school on May 21, 2018. Last Friday, 17-year-old student Dimitrios Pagourtzis entered the school with a shotgun and a pistol and opened fire, killing 10 people. COURTNEY SACCO/CALLER-TIMES-USA TODAY NETWORK/

Santa Fe High School senior Amy Roden is embraced by a group of people next to a makeshift memorial in front of the school in Santa Fe, Texas on May 20, 2018. Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times, via USA TODAY NETW

Santa Fe High School student Jaelyn Cogburn wipes away tears as she speaks about Pakistani exchange student Sabika Sheikh, who lived with her family, during a service at the Brand Lane Islamic Center Sunday, May 20, 2018, in Stafford, Texas. A gunman opened fire inside Santa Fe High School on May 18, 2018, killing multiple people including Sheikh. David J. Phillip, AP

Santa Fe High School seniors participate in a service at Arcadia First Baptist Church in Santa Fe, Texas on May 20, 2018, two days after a shooting at Santa Fe High School that left 10 dead. Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times, via USA TODAY NETWORK

Arcadia First Baptist Church in Santa Fe, Texas honors a group of seniors on May 20, 2018, two days after a shooting at Santa Fe High School that left 10 dead. Courtney Sacco, Caller-Times, via USA TODAY NETWORK

Baseball players from Santa Fe High School and Kingwood Park High School come together around the pitching mound to say a prayer before their game in Deer Park, Texas on May 19, 2018. A gunman opened fire inside Santa Fe High School on May 18, 2018, killing at least 10 people. DAVID J. PHILLIP/AP

A tape cross with the initials of victims of the Santa Fe High School shooting is placed over the dugout of the Santa Fe baseball team before a baseball game against Kingwood Park High School in Deer Park, Texas, Saturday, May 19, 2018. A gunman opened fire inside Santa Fe High School Friday, May 18, 2018, killing at least 10 people. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) ORG XMIT: TXDP115 David J. Phillip, AP

Chaplains from the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team pray on the grounds of Santa Fe High School on May 19, 2018, in Santa Fe, Texas. Ten people, mostly students, were killed when a teenage classmate armed with a shotgun and a revolver opened fire at the school on May 18. The gunman, arrested on murder charges, was identified as Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a 17-year-old junior at Santa Fe High School. He is being held on capital murder charges, meaning he could face the death penalty. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Tanya Diaz, Brock Sanchez and Lucy Gonzales of League City place flowers, a sign and balloons on a tree outside of Santa Fe High School Saturday, May 19, 2018 in Santa Fe, Texas. STUART VILLANUEVA/THE GALVESTON COUNTY DAILY NEWS/AP

A Texas Department of Public Safety officer places crime scene tape across Santa Fe High School on May 19, 2018, the day after a shooting a mass shooting in Santa Fe, Texas. Courtney Sacco/Caller-Times/USA TODAY NETWORK

A Santa Fe High School student returns to the school on May 19, 2018 as he tries to pick up his car the day after a shooting that left 10 dead in Santa Fe, Texas. COURTNEY SACCO/CALLER-TIMES/TODAY NETWORK

A group of people huddle and say a prayer after a vigil at Texas First Bank in Santa Fe Texas for the victims of the shooting at Santa Fe High School that left 10 dead Friday, May 18, 2018. COURTNEY SACCO/CALLER-TIMES/USA TODAY NETWORK

Two girls hold one another Friday evening during a vigil at Texas First Bank in Santa Fe Texas for the victims of the shooting at Santa Fe High School that left 10 dead Friday, May 18, 2018. COURTNEY SACCO/CALLER-TIMES/TODAY NETWORK

Students embrace during a vigil for victims of the Santa Fe school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas following a shooting that killed 10 at Santa Fe High School at Santa Fe High School, May 18, 2018. JOHN GLASER FOR THE USA TODAY NETWORK

A group embrace and say a prayer Friday evening during a vigil at Texas First Bank in Santa Fe Texas for the victims of the shooting at Santa Fe High School that left 10 dead Friday, May 18, 2018. COURTNEY SACCO/CALLER-TIMES/USA TODAY NETWORK

Two young girls say a prayer over bibles and candles places out Friday evening during a vigil at Texas First Bank in Santa Fe Texas for the victims of the shooting at Santa Fe High School that left 10 dead Friday, May 18, 2018. COURTNEY SACCO/CALLER-TIMES/TODAY NETWORK

Santa Fe High School junior Guadalupe Sanchez, 16, cries in the arms of her mother, Elida Sanchez, after reuniting with her at a meeting point at a nearby Alamo Gym following a shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, May 18, 2018. MICHAEL CIAGLO/HOUSTON CHRONICLE AP

People gather by the Barnett Intermediate School where parents are gathering to pick up their children following a shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, May 18, 2018. MARIE D. DE JESUS/HOUSTON CHRONICLE VIA AP

Students are emotional as they gather by the Barnett Intermediate School where parents are gathering to pick up their children following a shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, May 18, 2018. MARIE D. DE JESUS/HOUSTON CHRONICLE VIA AP

Santa Fe High School senior Logan Roberds talks to reporters outside the Alamo Gym where students and parents wait to reunite following a shooting at Santa Fe High School Friday, May 18, 2018, in Santa Fe, Texas. DAVID J. PHILLIP/AP

A man hugs a woman outside the Alamo Gym where parents wait to reunite with their children following a shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, May 18, 2018. MICHAEL CIAGLO/HOUSTON CHRONICLE VIA AP

A woman prays in the grass outside the Alamo Gym where parents wait to reunite with their kids following a shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, May 18, 2018. MICHAEL CIAGLO/HOUSTON CHRONICLE VIA AP

Santa Fe High School staff react as they gather in the parking lot of a gas station following a shooting at the school in Santa Fe, Texas, May 18, 2018. JENNIFER REYNOLDS/THE GALVESTON COUNTY DAILY NEWS VIA AP

A woman reacts while making a phone call outside the Alamo Gym where parents wait to reunite with their children following a shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, Friday, May 18, 2018. MICHAEL CIAGLO/HOUSTON CHRONICLE VIA AP

In this image taken from video emergency personnel and law enforcement officers respond to a high school near Houston after an active shooter was reported on campus, in Santa Fe, Texas, May 18, 2018. KTRK-TV ABC13 VIA AP